Vice President Jejomar Binay said increasing the number of years in basic education may not be the solution to improve the country’s quality of education.

Speaking to students and faculty members of the University of Makati last Wednesday, where he was conferred Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Binay said the reintroduction of quality instruction in schools, reforming the curriculum, and upgrading the textbooks are deemed better than adding more years to basic education.

“I would probably want to propose that we deliberate with greater care on certain proposals to increase the number of years of study for our students and that we shift to ‘English only’ to be spoken in our schools,” Binay said. “I believe that this may not be an appropriate way of addressing the decline of quality education in our schools.”

“I believe the problem could be remedied only by reintroducing quality instruction in our schools, reforming the curriculum to focus on the really important subjects, and upgrading all textbooks and instructional materials. All this should be supported, hand in hand, by a deliberate effort to improve the content of all media of social communication, many of which tend to specialize in inanities, profanities and vulgarities so destructive of the minds and morals of young and old alike,” he said.

The Department of Education (DepEd) is mulling to add two more years to basic education in public schools.

Binay meanwhile underscored the need to strengthen the country’s primary and secondary education as well as students’ proficiency in both English and Filipino to ensure that the country has a pool of competent human resources in the future.

Binay said that though the country is still not in a position to support students from primary to tertiary level, there must be an emphasis on strengthening students’ formative years.

“I believe that excellence must be implanted in the minds of our young people at the earliest stage. We should provide them with the best possible quality instruction from primary level all through high school, where they could simultaneously acquire basic vocational and technical skills. This should equip everyone with those skills in any number of occupational lines, even if they ultimately end up pursuing a college career. On the other hand, it should give those who are unable to move on to college a foretaste of whatever vocational or technical specialization they may want to pursue, possibly within the dual-tech training system,” he said.

He also said that in the future, free uniforms and school supplies should be given in other public schools, just like what he had done when he was still mayor of Makati City.

“I am hoping that what we have been able to do in Makati over the years for all its schoolchildren, the national government would now be able to do for all the schoolchildren all over the Philippines. This means free uniforms, school supplies, bags and books for all,” Binay said.

“Hopefully, if funds permit, the government could also provide modest allowances for these schoolchildren so that there would be less pressure on them to drop out in order to help their respective families earn their daily subsistence,” he added.

The Vice President has remained optimistic that the country’s education system will soon improve with proper reforms in the education system coupled with good governance, as he expressed his support to the initiatives of the Aquino administration in the area of education.

He said he will share Makati’s experience in improving the quality of education in the country and in providing students and teachers with the needed tools for learning and teaching.